buswinker

Seriously don't think you see more bad behaviour from drivers than public. We're on cctv every minute we drive. One complaint and cctv is pulled, reviewed and usually comes down in favour of the complainant. Bus driver attitude is down to being constantly treated like garbage every working day by certain passengers, car drivers and even management. Have a job like that and tell me you'd have a smile on your face for the public every day. You can despise your job but still turn up for work to pay the bills until something better comes along. That's what I did, and I hope I never return.

Well if people do then hopefully the bus company will alter their policy. The ones who know how to play the game are laughing at the genuine passengers who are honest. Same reason travelmaster ended payment by card or phone fir weekly tickets. Scammers were costing the companies thousands. So the actions of the few affected the many genuine passengers. If policy was changed to say no to these people, the genuine people would still use the bus. If the non genuine stop using buses no one would care.

Unpaid fares slips no longer exist. I should know as we used to have regular equipment checks and never had unpaid fares slips in that check. Even manual tickets have been discontinued for when the ticket machine went down. Now you just tell people to take a seat.

Well that just backs up what busdriver1 says then. When you're a driver, you see the worst scummiest sector of the public. I feel sorry for the actual nice people who have to share a space with these bottom feeders.

Did you know that a certain bus company has a company policy that if your card or phone won't make a contact less payment for whatever reason and you don't have cash, you can travel anyway for free? If the driver refuses, simply state it's company policy, that the driver can't refuse travel and tell them to ring the office to confirm it. Push the issue and you will travel for free. I say this not to encourage people to do this as many probably will when they read this. I say this in the hope that the company will change their policy when they see that many more people try this in order to free ride. The company has the view that by doing this for a passenger, the next time they travel they will have a means of paying and use this company's service as they were treated well the last time. Erm, no. If people realise this, they will take advantage every time they travel to get free rides. This company needs to grow a pair and stand up to people who want to take advantage and say no, if you can't pay, you don't travel. As drivers we use the argument that if you was to try to buy something in a shop and your card doesn't work, you don't get to walk out with the item. If more people use the company policy argument back, then eventually the lost revenue will result in fares increasing. So those of you who are decent people reading this will know why fares increase in the future.

As an ex bus driver, it sounds good to say it finally, I'm going to comment on a few subjects in different threads because if I made all my comments in one place, it would be a very long first post. Firstly I will talk about the shortage of drivers which every bus company is experiencing. There are lots of reasons for the shortages. One major reason is the attitude of the public towards drivers. A lot of passengers are polite and friendly. But many quite simply treat us like dirt. We get blamed for everything that is wrong with the bus service we are driving. If we are late due to traffic at one end of the journey, the people waiting for the bus where there is no traffic complain. Just because the road where you are standing is free flowing doesn't mean every road is. If we are late because of a breakdown, again, the drivers fault. If the ticket machine won't accept your card, drivers fault. It's just accepted ten previous passenger cards but it's your fault or the faulty machine that it won't accept theirs so they expect a free ride! It doesn't take long for new drivers to find out just how vile and disgusting certain members of the publics behaviour is towards drivers. Many new drivers who have not experienced behaviour like that towards them before quite simply can't handle it and leave as soon as they find alternative work. Drivers who are used to it can sort of tolerate it, but it still doesn't make it easier to accept. Up until covid hit I think many drivers felt trapped in the job. What furlough did was prove to many drivers that they could live on a lower wage. This is when many drivers left. Attracting new drivers is difficult. I would never recommend this job to anyone who asked. If anyone reading this is considering it, I say now, don't do it!! Bus services are going to get worse in the future and quite frankly I'm happy they will as the vast majority of passengers don't deserve it.

Still the principle of chopping down something that is living....just like you. To borrow from a sign tied around one tree trunk on that road.

There are a lot of rants I have so I am going to split them into separate subjects. Firstly, money for tickets. Your bus driver does not have an endless supply of change. Your bus driver must supply his own float for the day. That's out if his own pocket. So don't think that like any big shop or supermarket, you can pay for a one pound journey with a tenner! Or buy a weekly pass for between £12.50 and £15 with a twenty. You and everyone else on a Monday morning all have the ssme idea. You have all weekend to split that money down but you can't be bothered. That's why you get a change voucher and that's why you moan because now you can't buy your lunch. You do it every week and never learn. Your bus driver doesn't want the constant arguments and delays trying to get you to work/school on time but you leave him no choice. You know who you are.

I noticed over the Christmas period that thete were lots of Christmas trees in the windows of the houses on Rustlings Road. I wonder how many of those were real ones chopped down before they had a chance to mature so they could sit in the bay windows of the protestors and be hung with baubles ?